vastrightwing 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Canadian Music Collection Society Demanding Payment For 30 Second Song Previews

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 27 Dec, 2010 @ 08:57am

    The ultimate conclusion

    Artists will not be heard because no one will pay for a 30 second performance. This is like asking a consumer to purchase a car without first being able to drive it. Is it not? I will not pay to buy something without a sample of some kind. No way.

    So what is the threshold? 5 seconds? zero?

  • On the post: Free Speech Apparently Less Important Than US Attorney & Courts Silencing 'Annoying' Woman

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 23 Dec, 2010 @ 12:36pm

    No surprise here

    Yes, this happens all the time. We only heard of this one case, however, I'm sure there are TONS more just like this. What can we do? If you're a victim, do your research like this woman and make noise. The press won't research things like this, but if you point it out, they'll parrot it so people will hear about it.

  • On the post: Another Reminder That You Don't Own Your eBooks: Amazon Removing More eBooks You 'Bought' From Archives

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 16 Dec, 2010 @ 09:02am

    This got me thinking

    After reading this story, I decided to look through my book shelf to make sure the old books I bought, which are no longer in print are still on my shelf. I'm happy to report that all my old books are accounted for, minus the ones I sold at a yard sale or donated to my public library.

  • On the post: Mainstream Press Seems To Think Fighting For Civil Liberties Is Childish

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 01 Dec, 2010 @ 11:15am

    Who is the "mainstream" press these days?

    With less and people watching network TV and more and more print media failing, just who is the mainstream media? It seems to me, the news media is very fragmented now. And if this is the case, how can so many different sources be so on the same page? Seriously, I'm hearing many people claim all these stories telling us we should shut-up, grow up and be "safe" by allowing the TSA to grope us; how can they all be on the same page? It seems like there are some talking points reporters are supposed to parrot and they are. With the power of the internet, perhaps someone can find out why the message is so unified. Something is fishy to me here.

  • On the post: Facebook Blamed For Accused Killer's Name Spreading…

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 22 Nov, 2010 @ 11:41am

    Even if...

    Even if I'm 100% sure body scanners are safe, it changes nothing. So what. Peering into my private space is not OK with me when there are many other ways to screen out the badness. There is profiling, body language, and common sense. I am perfectly willing to fly if tomorrow all the so called TSA agents quit and all the metal detectors stopped working. I would rely on my own profiling ability and my fellow passengers to alert me to a possible problem. The reason is everyone on the plane has the same safety concerns, where the TSA is more concerned about its own power. It is as simple as that. This doesn't mean that we are safe, far from it, but I'll take the risks. I don't want a hi-tech version of the great wall of China watching our every move and making it hard to travel.

  • On the post: US Risks Not Getting FIFA World Cup… Because It Won't Give FIFA Special Copyright Powers

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 19 Nov, 2010 @ 11:29am

    Shrugs shoulders

    ehhh.

  • On the post: MLB Issuing Tons Of YouTube Takedowns; Don't Try To Share Your Love Of Baseball

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 15 Nov, 2010 @ 05:02pm

    I promise

    I won't talk about MLB. I won't ask questions about MLB
    I won't post videos about MLB anything anywhere.

  • On the post: How Murdoch's Paywalls Meant Some News It Broke Went Unnoticed & Uncredited

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 15 Nov, 2010 @ 04:58pm

    snicker

    LOL

  • On the post: Oh Look, More Cord Cutters: Time Warner Cable Loses 155,000 TV Subscribers

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 08 Nov, 2010 @ 12:04pm

    Re: Just cut the cord last night

    Don't worry. You'll be fine in a week. Your habits will change immediately and by next week, you're going to be upset you didn't do this much sooner because you won't miss it!

  • On the post: Does Capital One Offer Different Loan Rates Based On Your Browser Software?

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 05 Nov, 2010 @ 10:58am

    Ultimate rate 0%*

    Yes, apply for a zero percent loan here.

    * Not everyone will be qualified for a 0% loan, your rate could be higher based on your credit score.

    This is how they can get an almost 100% conversion rate. It would work. All they have to do is say, based on your low 900 FICO score, you only qualify for a 6% rate. Only people with FICO sores over 2000 get a 0% rate.

  • On the post: Colleges Experimenting With Bulk-Buying E-Textbooks… And Forcing Students To Pay Up

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 05 Nov, 2010 @ 10:46am

    3rd party billing

    This won't last long. This is just another example of 3rd party billing where the consumer has no choice. Will it be abused? YES! We see this over and over. Insurance, cable companies, telephone companies, and the list goes on and on. Colleges are not shy about ripping off students and colluding with business. Just look at student debit cards and the SPIF the colleges get from banks. This won't end well.

  • On the post: Warner Bros. So Thrilled With Netflix 28-Day Delays, It Wants To Have Longer Delays

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 04 Nov, 2010 @ 12:40pm

    Obvious conclusion

    Make the window infinitely large. This is OK with me, it's not like I watch so many movies this will make any impact on me. If I really want to watch a movie on DVD because it's that good. I will. I won't buy it. I'll rent it from RedBox. so knock yourselves out with windows and make them as big as you want.

  • On the post: Security Consultants Claim New Terrorist Bombs May Mean No More In-Flight WiFi

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 03 Nov, 2010 @ 01:07pm

    Using same logic

    we should ban all forms of communication except by government officials.

  • On the post: Colgate Patents Traditional Indian Tooth-cleaning Powder Despite It Being Used For Thousands Of Years

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 02 Nov, 2010 @ 05:19pm

    Re: i wonder

    Sir, you are infringing on one or more of my patents here. I described this exact same thing in my idea, second (only after another poster on this forum), so not only are you attempting to patent an idea I came up with, but also a very similar idea I read about before I came up with it. The prior poster will not only sue me, I will sue you. Now if we can get others to come with another similar idea, we can all sue the next person. As more and more people come up with the same idea, we'll all go after the infringers creating a large pyramid like structure so we'll all get rich.

  • On the post: Colgate Patents Traditional Indian Tooth-cleaning Powder Despite It Being Used For Thousands Of Years

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 02 Nov, 2010 @ 02:22pm

    Circular reference

    I'm going to patent a way to always beat competition by preventing others from being able to use existing methods, ideas and technology. My idea is centered on using the U.S. government and its offices to give someone a unique number which explains that by obtaining this special number, no one else can use this particular idea in any way shape of form, transmitted by any means electronic, mechanical, telepathically or any means not yet discovered. Anyone attempting to use the idea described by the article associated with this special number will be sued by the owner of this special number for as much money, gold or currency the entity using this idea has.

  • On the post: Irony: Book About Recording Industry's Mishandling Of Digital Priced Higher As Ebook Than Physical Book

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 01 Nov, 2010 @ 07:53am

    Didn't see this coming

    I admit I didn't see this coming. I figured they'd sell ebooks for the same as a paperback. Publishers sure don't like ebooks, or they simply think people will pay dearly for convenience. Ticket master knows this and publishers now think this. Ironically, they are selling the paperback for much less than the ebook and loosing more sales because a tangible paperback can be resold many times (legally), donated to libraries and loaned out. now my only question is, how much are people willing to pay for a license to read?

  • On the post: Comcast Pretends That Cord Cutters Aren't Cord Cutters If They Cut Cord Because Of The Economy

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 28 Oct, 2010 @ 08:41am

    Incompatible business model

    Cable's business model is incompatible with consumer choice. Current model is: Provider(s) -> Carrier -> Consumer. Where consumer has choice A) Pay and B) not pay. This worked in the past because there was no competition. Now there is lots of competition and consumers have choice. The model now is:
    Provider(s) -> Carrier(s) -> Consumer

    The carriers are RF (over the air), Satellite, Cable, TCP/IP (aka Internet).

    The game is changing. The entertainment industry is resistant to change because it's worked well for a long time and even today still rakes in a ton of dough for them. Basically the carrier was the middle man. The providers had no contact with the end consumer. This allowed the providers to avoid competition and they could charge whatever they wanted since they controlled the content the provider could offer to the consumer.

    Today, consumers have choice and consumers are waking up and realizing they can avoid the problem of a single carrier and opt to drop it altogether and use alternative methods of entertainment. The traditional model is dying. It's only a short matter of time before we hear the industry start crying for taxes to be levied to support the dying industry. Yes, this is a repeat of the music industry woes.

  • On the post: Yet Another Reminder That You Don't Own Your Ebooks: B&N Nook Deletes Files, Blames User

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 27 Oct, 2010 @ 01:53pm

    Re: Correct analogy

    Do you carry your Nook backups around with you on vacation or your business trip in case B&N decides they want to reflash your device and clear all the memory? My guess is no. So imagine you're on a trip and the Nook decides it's time to reflash itself. Oops! You're caught without your backups. The whole point of the Nook is to have access to your content without lugging around a laptop. I don't care what the device is, I want control over IF and WHEN the device is updated. I even turn off my OS auto-updates because I want control of when it decides to update. On some occasions, I have returned to my PC with an empty desktop after Microsoft applied a "critical" update and it thus rebooted itself and closed all my open documents and applications (I didn't loose any data). It takes me an hour or so to recreate the same configuration I had. So I wish all manufacturers would stop this horrible assumption they can automatically reboot my devices without my consent. It's extremely annoying!

  • On the post: Yet Another Reminder That You Don't Own Your Ebooks: B&N Nook Deletes Files, Blames User

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 27 Oct, 2010 @ 01:34pm

    I'll ask the question

    Why in heck didn't the Nook ASK the user to backup his data before it cleared his files? Hummm? Most software will inform you that it's about to do a destructive operation and inform the user before the damage is done. There is no excuse for this at all. The update could have been deferred indefinitely until the owner gave it permission to do the update. In principal, I hate the idea of auto updates, especially when they are destructive. I have no tolerance for the engineers who were so sloppy with their implementation. bad bad!

  • On the post: Mark Cuban: It's Okay For Broadcasters To Block Access Based On Browsers, Because They're Making Billions

    vastrightwing ( profile ), 25 Oct, 2010 @ 01:59pm

    Fear & Greed

    This is the same thing that happens with the stock market: Fear & greed. In this case, the greed is making sure they ignore the signs to invest in a new platform. Once the money starts to significantly slow down, then the fear will take hold, at which point the executives will be in the same panic mode the music industry is in the middle of right now. They will then flounder around with paywalls and DRM and trying to lock up content long after people have shifted away from broadcast TV. By that time, people's entertainment patterns will have shifted away from traditional models: perhaps favoring online games, socializing, reading, etc. The market will be very fragmented and the large amount of money they're seeing now will be a distant memory. They will get the government to mandate all kinds of protectionist schemes, which won't work because the old model is gone. They'll blame consumers, google, microsoft, anyone they can grasp at. They'll try to tax us saying that our culture is disappearing and it must be preserved, when in reality, they want to preserve the market they lost years ago because their greed wouldn't let them recognize they were loosing sight of what consumers wanted. Just look at the music industry. It's all right there, right now.

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